


Buried Secrets

by Mod_the_Demon



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adult Fear, Attempted Murder, Childhood Trauma, Curses, Demons, Fear of Death, Horror, Hybrids, Loss of Innocence, Moonlight, Murder, Shyness, Trauma, Zombies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-27
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-17 13:17:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17561147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mod_the_Demon/pseuds/Mod_the_Demon
Summary: A planned meeting for two half-siblings turns into a night of terror after entering a mysterious village.





	Buried Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> Shoutout to @lemons-s (Tumblr and Pixiv) and ObsidianRabbit (Tumblr) as their characters star in this story.

“Aura?” The soft and soothing voice rang through the lakefront. “Aura sweetie, where are you?” Almost on cue to the sounds, a small child, no younger than five slowly arose from her makeshift grass bed. The poor girl had tuckered herself right out from an entire morning of splashing around at her lake home, so she had plopped herself down for a little nap by the bank. She rubbed her eyes, still a little groggy, as someone behind her brushed aside the tall grass.

“There you are.” Aura turned and looked up to see the warm smile of her mother, Kyveli. “I knew you had to be here somewhere.” Kyveli was truly a marvel to behold, even for nymph standards. Her snow white hair flowed gracefully without a single flaw to be seen. Her somewhat pale skin glistened like the water she lived in. Aura yawned. As she slowly sat herself up. Kyveli chuckled at her sleepy daughter. “Told you all that running would tucker you out, sweetie.” She kneeled down to help her daughter back on her feet. “But Mama, it was just so fun.” Aura said in a cute attempt to explain herself. Kyveli only chuckled some more, playfully ruffling her daughter’s hair. “I’m sure it was.” She then lifted her up. “But now it’s time to get up. I just spoke to your father, and he said your brother and his family should be arriving here soon.” Aura blinked. “My...brother?” Aura was a bit...different from her mother. While she looked not too different from how Kyveli looked when she was her age, Aura possessed some...other traits, inherited from her father- the demon prince, Asmodeus. Namely her stubby horns, demonic tail and bluish tint to her complexion. 

Her father, being the prince of lust, had a tendency to “get around”, meaning that his demonic half-breed spawn inhabited nearly every corner of the world. Even so, he tried his best to make time for his children, and had arranged for Aura to meet one of her nearest half-siblings. 

“As a matter of fact…” There was a rustling in the grass. “That must be them now.” 

Kyveli made her way through the bush with Aura in hand. Only a few feet ahead stood three individuals looking rather confused as to where they were supposed to be heading. The tallest, who looked to be the matriarch, was a very buxom woman with wide hips. She had a very maternal air about her, with the seemingly pleasant smile she sported, seemingly trying her best to remain confident despite her confusion. Beside her stood a shorter female figure, about two-three heads shorter than her. Her freckled face seemed oddly youthful in contrast to the extremely heavy pair of breasts she appeared to be sporting, obviously signaling her developments in the well...sexual department. Clinging to her side seemed to be another figure about a foot shorter than her, though its’ features seemed indescribable at the time. Though something that the two women before Kyveli seemed to have in common was their long, fluffy hair that appeared to resemble sheep wool, two horns resting on both sides of their heads, and floppy ears, flicking about as if trying to hear their surroundings.

“Excuse me.” the duo turned to face Kyveli, who sheepishly made her way through the brush. “You must be Elliots’ family, correct?” 

The taller woman sighed, seemingly relieved to hear her ask. “Oh yes that’s us. And you must be Kyveli?” 

Kyveli smiled. “The one and only.” 

The taller woman’s ears flicked even quicker, possibly out of happiness. “Oh good.” She stepped forward up to Kyveli. “Oh sorry, where are my manners? My name’s Emma.” She held her hand out, as Kyveli used one free hand to shake it while still holding Aura in the other. The shorter woman stepped forward as Emma pulled her hand back. “This little fluff here is my ‘daughter’ Rose.” Rose smiled warmly as a bit of blush appeared on her freckled cheeks. At that moment the figure gripping Rose’s leg tightly, peaked slightly from behind her, revealing to be a child, whose eyes were somewhat obscured by his wool like bangs. He lacked the freckles of the two women, but his floppy ears were a clear indication of his heritage, as well as the demonic horns and tail. Yep, he was clearly Asmodeus’ child. Rose giggled as she placed a hand on the timid child’s head.

“And this little sweetheart here,” She chirped cheerfully. “Is Elliot.” She brushed his hair as he peaked out from behind her briefly before shrinking back as Kyveli looked at him. Rose giggled again; Elliot always got this way around new people. “Oh come on Elli, don’t you want to meet your sister?” Elliot only hugged her leg tighter as Kyveli chuckled, lowering Aura down to Elliot’s level.

“Oh Aura, sweetie, say hello to your brother.” Aura didn’t really waste anytime, leaping onto the ground from her mother’s arm, she quickly ran up to her half-brother, a big smile on her face. “Hiiiiiii” She squealed, hardly masking her excitement. “Wowie, you’re my new brother?” Her eyes appeared to sparkle as she looked him up and down. Her excitement only seemed cause her half brother recoil even more, gripping Rose’s side as if clinging for dear life. Rose rolled her eyes as she gently pushed him forward. “Now come on Elli, she’s just happy to meet you, don’t wanna be rude, do we?” Elliot hesitated but finally loosened his grip, eventually letting go to properly say hi to his half-sister. No sooner had he done so, however, Aura appeared to get an idea that made her face light up even more. “Oh my goodness, brother Elliot, you just need to see our home.” Elliot was more than a little taken aback by this, everything just seemed to be going so fast. “W-well...I-I don’t-” Before he could get another word out, Aura had already grabbed him by the arm as she began eagerly leading him back to the lakefront. Elliot, still taking in everything didn’t put up much resistance as his sister practically dragged him through the grass. “Aura!” Kyveli called out before she got too far. “Don’t go too far off from the lakefront, sweetie. It should be getting dark soon.” “Don’t worry Mama, we won’t!” Aura called back, not even slowing down in the slightest. Pretty soon the duo had vanished in the brush.

Kyveli sighed, shaking her head. “Sorry about that, Aura always was an excitable one.” Emma chuckled. “Oh don’t worry about it, we’ve been trying for days now to help Elliot become more social.” Kyveli smiled. “I’m sure Aura will be able to help him with that.” Kyveli then looked up at Emma as she cocked an eyebrow. “So, um… out of curiosity, just how did you meet our favorite blue-skinned demon?” Emma blushed for a minute but then giggled. “Oh my, well while I’ve done my fair share of child bearing…” She sheepishly pointed to Rose, who smiled confidently. “That little sweetheart came out of her.” Kyveli’s eyes widened for a second as she had to do a quick doubletake between the two. “O-Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize, I’m sorry.” Emma smiled. “Don’t worry, you’re not the first one to make that mistake.” Rose laughed before blushing as certain memories started to flood her mind. “Well...kind of a funny story really…”  
Down at the lakefront. Aura spent several minutes telling her new brother all about her life here at the lake. How her mom taught her how to swim and sing, how her (well their) dad would pay her monthly visits to check up on her, and so on and so on. Elliot just sat there in silences letting his sister go on and on. Though whether he was listening intently or was just unable to properly come up with a way to converse with her was somewhat unclear.

“Oh hey!” Aura grabbed Elliots arm again. “Let’s play catch, brother Elliot.” Elliot finally snapped into reality. “Wha-C-Catch?” He tried in vain to pull his arm back. “B-But we don’t have a ball.” Aura smiled pulling her brother to his feet. “Yeah we do.” She rushed over to a nearby bush, rummaging through it like it were a toy box before plucking a medium size rubber ball out of the leaves. “Papa got it for me for my birthday.” Elliot seemed somewhat surprised but now realized he had no excuse not to at this point. He sighed as he nodded resigned to the game. Aura beamed before tossing the ball his way. “Catch brother!” The ball didn’t actually reach its intended target, instead landing about a foot or two in front of Elliot. As excitable as Aura could be, her throws weren’t really the best. But given her smile and excited bouncing up and down, it was clear that didn’t bother her a bit. Elliot sighed as he stepped forward, picking the ball up and tossing it back to his sister. She caught the ball cheering to herself as she did before tossing it back. Her excitement seemed a little infectious as Elliot couldn’t help but smile in response to his giggling sister. About ten minutes passed of the two tossing the ball back and forth, with each toss, Elliot appeared to get more and more excited. He was truly having a good time with his new sister...perhaps a little too much fun. He tossed the ball one more time, but it seemed he threw it a little too enthusiastically, as it flew clear over Aura’s head and into the woods behind her. Elliot gasped as it vanished among the trees. “O-Oh my gosh! I-I’m so sorry sis, I-” Aura tilted her head quizzically. “What’s the matter brother Elliot? We can just go get it.” Elliot’s eyes widened at the suggestion. 

“B-But, didn’t your mom say-” “It’s just over that way.” Aura interrupted pointing at the woods behind her. “Come ooooon, we won’t go far.” Elliot shook his head. He really didn’t want to get in any trouble, but at the same time he wasn’t willing to let his new sister go in the woods alone. He sighed heavily. “F-Fine, b-but it was your idea if we get in trouble…” Aura scoffed. “Pfffff, we won’t get in trouble, silly brother.” She led him into the brush behind them. “See, it’s right-” She was cut off by the sounds of giggles as standing before them was a young boy, who looked to be no older than either of them. He was a pale child, with snow white hair and red eyes, in his hand was their ball. “Excuse me.” Aura said innocently. “Can we have that back please?” The boy looked up at the duo, cocking an eyebrow. “This is your ball?” He said, in a somewhat teasing tone. Aura glared at the boy with a pouty expression. “Yes.” She reiterated. “Now could you please give it back.” The boy gripped the ball tighter. “You want it?” He began slowly moving backwards before outright running deeper into the forest “Gotta catch me then!” “Hey!” Aura yelled incredulously. “Gimme back my ball you meanie!” Without a second though she bolted after the strange boy. “AURA!!” Elliot called out to her, but Aura didn’t show any sign of stopping soon. Not wanting to be left alone in the woods, Elliot took off after his sister, barely managing to keep up with her. 

As the two ran after the mystery child with their ball, they failed to notice the makeship trail in the forest seemed to be becoming more and more narrow. No matter how fast Aura ran though, the boy seemed to be becoming smaller and smaller in her vision, eventually vanishing into the thickness of the woods. “Aw dang it!” Aura shouted stamping her feet. “Where’d that meanie go?!” Having finally stopped gave Elliot just enough to finally catch up to his sister, panting heavily from the unexpected workout. “S-Sis…” He coughed between gasps. “I think...we should….go back now….” “But he still has our baaaaaalll.” Aura protested. “C-Can’t you get a new one?...” Elliot said timidly. “No!” Aura pouted. “Papa gave me that one, it’s special!” Elliot sighed at his sister’s stubbornness, “But you can always ask him to buy you a new one, and since it’s from him it’s still special.” Aura shook her head. “It’s not the a saaaaame!” Elliot soon realized there’d be no talking her out of this, and with a heavy sigh he followed his sister deeper into the woods. As they ventured deeper and deeper everything just seemed to get all the more eerie, the woods themselves seemed as if it was trying to swallow the duo with each step they took. Elliot grasped his sister’s arm tightly, clearly terrified of the growing darkness of the foliage . Eventually Aura had to stop, as it was clear she had no idea where she was anymore. She stomped her foot frustrated. “Aw maaaan.” She sniffled back a frustrated tear. “I want my baaaaall” Her sniffling soon turned into soft crying from frustration. However her tears were interrupted by the sounds of approaching footprints crunching through the leaves. The duo froze like deer in front of headlights; afraid that maybe they had been followed by a hungry wolf or something. However when they turned around to see just what it was that had been following them, they were somewhat relieved to find it wasn’t a hungry predator...or at least it didn’t seem like one.

What stood before them, was an extremely tall individual though not as tall as the trees, he towered over the two children. His hair was long,unusually straight and jet black. His outfit was chaotic, like an assortment of items haphazardly thrown together for no apparent reason. The oddest thing about him, though, was the face. He had two eyes where they should be, but also an extra one resting on his forehead. Odd as his appearance was, something about him just seemed...off. Elliot couldn’t exactly place his finger on it, but something about him just made the little hybrid’s skin crawl. The two just stood there, not saying anything for what seemed like an eternity. Finally the mystery man spoke. “Children…” His voice had a strange echo to it, almost like an angel...or a demon. Either way though, to Elliot he just screamed bad news. “What are you two doing out here all alone?” The duo remained silent. “You know these woods can be dangerous this time of day.” The duo glanced down sheepishly before Aura began to speak. “We...we…” She sputtered. “W-We’re not supposed to talk to s-strangers.” Elliot interrupted. The stranger smiled, chuckling a bit to himself. “Ohohoho, aren’t you are smart lad?”, He said sarcastically. He shook his head. “Well, child, what if I told you I’m no stranger.” The duo looked at him clearly confused. “Perhaps I should introduce myself. My name is Ifher.” There was a slight glint in his eyes as he said his name. “And I happen to know your father...pretty well actually.” Aura’s ears perked up. “You...you know Papa?” Ifher smiled. “Oh yes, in fact, I’m an uncle of his in a sense.” At this point Elliot seemed interested as well. This man was his Popsy’s uncle? How could that be? “And I couldn’t help but notice that you two seem to be a long ways from home…” Aura looked away sheepishly. “W-we didn’t mean to go far. We just wanted my ball back.”

Ifher cocked an eyebrow. “Ball?” Aura suddenly regained her earlier vigor. “Yeah! This meanie boy took my ball and ran away with it, have you seen em mister?” Ifher looked as though he was thinking when he spoke. “A short pale one with white hair?” “That’s him!” Aura blurted. Ifher grinned. “Why yes, as a matter of fact I saw that boy head off down that way.” He pointed towards a strangely lit opening in the woods. At that point, Elliot had snapped out of his brief period of thought. “C-come on Aura.” he grabbed Aura’s arm. “W-We should go home…” Ifher’s smile faded. “But child…” He turned to see behind them. “I’m afraid there’s no path that way…” That couldn’t be possible, they just came that way. Elliot looked past the tall man in front of them and could hardly believe his eyes. The path they took, it had completely vanished, almost as if it was never there. “Uh oh…” Elliot said, his ears drooping. “Mama’s gonna be mad…” Ifher placed a finger on his lip. “Hmmm, quite a predicament children..it’s almost sundown and who knows what kind of nasties come out in these woods at night…” Elliot bleeted nervously. He hated the thought of being lost in the deep dark woods. Ifher noticed his terror. “But, fear not children…” He kneeled down to their level. “Listen close, down that path there that that boy ran down earlier, there’s a village down that way. If you go there you will be safe.” He stood back up. “I’ll go back and find your parents.” This all didn’t seem right, this man was being way too nice. Everything about this just seemed to send so many red flags to Elliot, and yet...if he was really Popsy’s uncle, he couldn’t be that bad...right? Elliot didn’t really have much time to think to hard about it as Aura seemed to have already began marching her way towards the opening. Elliot sighed heavily, he didn’t like the idea of this one bit, but he’d be darned if he’d get stuck with this...creepy man in the middle of the woods. “Hey Aura, wait up!” He ran up to try and catch up with his sister, not noticing that Ifher appeared to be smirking as he and Aura drew closer to the opening. “See you soon children…”, He whispered.

The two continued walking forward for about five minutes before finally exiting the forest. What stood before them was truly a sight to behold. Just ahead was a bright little town, with several individuals of different races mingling and carrying out their day with a smile on their face. Near the entrance sat a very burly looking orc who seemed rather bored. Next to him was a sign which read, “Welcome to Slatesville” pretty invitingly. The duo hesitated, though the orc at the front didn’t look too intimidating from anyone else's perspective, he still was awfully scary for the two small children considering he towered over them. Eventually they worked up the courage to approach, the orc noticed them almost immediately and hopped up to greet them. “Well howdy do strangers, names Oguk” his voice was deep but actually much more inviting than intimidating. “Welcome to Slatesville little ones.” He looked around, noticing no adults seemed to accompany them. “Erm...not to be rude but uh, where are your parents kiddos?” Elliot rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Uh...h-hi, uh...w-we’re kind of lost mister….” Tears started to swell in his eyes, this whole situation obviously being extremely uncomfortable for the timid child. “Ah ah, say no more kiddo.” Oguk stood up patting both of them on the top of their heads. “Don’t worry kids, Slatesville is always welcome to visitors, stay as long as you need to until your folks find you.” With that he gave both of them a light shove into the town.

Almost immediately, Aura’s eyes widened. Everything about the town just looked so shiny and wondrous (At least in the eyes of a child) so many people of seemed to be so happy and content it just looked like paradise at least in Aura’s eyes. Elliot stuck close to his sister, so many strange people he had never met before just made the boy tense up. “H-Hey Sis...l-let’s stick to-” “Come on brother Elliot, let’s go find my ball!” with that, Aura bolted down towards the market place. “H-Hey! Wait for me!” Elliot tried his best to catch up to his sister, but Aura quickly became lost among the crowd, Elliot didn’t stop running though. Perhaps if he kept running he would find her eventually, right? So focused on finding his sister was he, that he didn’t even notice the people around him until, PLOP! Elliot fell back on his rear after slamming full force into something soft. “Oh goodness!” A concerned voice rang in Elliots ears as he shook his head, slightly confused. “Are you okay Sugah?” Elliot looked up, his face level with a pair of massive breasts. “Gah!” He blushed, scooting back a little, now getting a better look at the figure in front of him. It was a tall, buxom, elvin woman with dark skin and a concerned expression. She looked to be about Emma’s age if not older and wore a dress that seemed to fit her...somewhat snuggly. “Oh dear, that was a pretty nasty fall there Sugah.” She knelt down to his level pulling out a cloth from a pouch on her belt. “Here.” She wiped the dirt off of his face as she helped him back to his feet. “Now then, what’s a young one like you doing out here all alone Sugah?” The woman spoke, her voice was kind and motherly even in spite of Elliot running right into her.

“S-Sorry miss.” Elliot sputtered. “I-I was just...t-trying to find m-my sister…” The woman smiled gently lifting Elliot back on his feet. “Alright Sugah, come on, let’s go find your sister, wouldn’t want her to get lost would we?” The kind woman held Elliot by the hand as she guided him through the marketplace. Elliot tried keeping his eyes low, he didn’t want to get caught staring at...certain things on this nice woman. As much as interacting with strangers bothered the young one most of the time, something about this woman just seemed...relaxing, almost as if she were his own mother (or grandmother) “Ah, is that her over there Sugah?” The woman asked pointing in front of her. Elliot looked up to see Aura standing in front of a fruit stand,talking to some cheerful looking orange kobold wearing an apron. “Aura!” Without thinking, Elliot released his grip on the woman beside him, rushing forward to his sister. Aura quickly spun to face her brother, who hugged her tightly. She giggled at his embrace. “H-Hey what gives?” She asked innocently. “You shouldn’t run off like that Sugah.” The kind woman behind Elliot spoke. “You could have gotten both you and your brother lost, you know.” The kobold smiled as the elven woman stepped forward. “Well howdy Ms. Oloro,” He pointed towards the duo. “You know these little munchkins?” Ms. Oloro chuckled. “Oh no no, I just bumped into one of em, literally. Poor thing looked so scared by himself so I helped him find his sister.” She looked down at the contents of his cart. “How’s business today, Topaz?” the kobold smiled. “Ah ya know, no one in this town can get enough of my fresh produce.” He then stretched his back with an audible pop. “Though, I’m not quite sure what possessed me to add watermelons and pumpkins to my stock today…” he chuckled nervously as Ms. Oloro laughed. 

Topaz then looked down at the duo, smiling as Aura eventually wiggled her way out of her brother’s grasp. “This little one just happened to run into me and my cart...literally.” Aura regained her bearings, but then remembered something. “Say mister,” She said turning to Topaz who gave her his full attention. “Have you seen a kid with a ball come by?” Topaz thought for a moment. “No I can’t say I have little miss…” He replied with a sorry tone. Aura stomped her foot in annoyance. “Dang it!” she blurted out. “Aw don’t be so down little miss,” Topaz reached over, pulling an apple from his cart. “Here.” He handed it to her. “It’s on the house.” Aura sniffled a bit but took the apple. “Thank you sir…” She said still somewhat upset. “Now then Sugah…” Ms. Oloro said looking down at Elliot. “Shouldn’t you be getting back to your parents.” Elliot ears seemed to perk at this question, causing Oloro to give him a quizzical look. “...You do have parents, don’t ya Sugar?” “W-Well, actually…” Elliot stuttered. “M-Me and my sister are kind of...lost.” Oloro gasped at hearing this. “Oh no, you poor things.” She placed her hands tenderly on Elliot’s cheeks, who had began sniffling as it hit him that he really didn’t know how to get back to the lakefront.

“Shhh, Sugah don’t cry.” Oloro cooed in a calm, motherly tone. “I’m sure we’ll find your parents in due time.” She took them both by the hand. “Come on Sugah, let’s go find them.” No sooner had she grabbed his hand, something odd began to happen to Elliot. His head began to spin as something seemed to flash within his mind. “I’m sorry it has to be this way Sugah….” Oloro’s voice rang in Elliot’s mind, but her voice had a much more...grim. It just oozed an air of hostility, a stark contrast from how she had spoken to him before. “But you’ve got the beast growing in you...and it must be stopped…” The beast? What was she talking about? Why would Ms. Oloro be talking about- “Sugah?” Elliot snapped back to reality. “Are you alright?” Ms. Oloro asked giving him look of concern. “You looked like you were thinking real hard about something” Elliot blinked as both, Ms. Oloro and Aura appeared to be looking at him as if he had grown a third arm. “I uh...thought I heard something…” He replied, unable to truly put what he experienced into words. “Oh Sugah, you’re probably just tired from walking around in that forest.” Ms. Oloro rubbed his cheek tenderly. “If you want, you and your sister are welcome to stay with me for the night. We could always look for your parents in the morn-” “NO!” Elliot snapped surprisingly loud, causing more than a few passerbys to turn to them, and taking Ms. Oloro aback. Elliot blushed, when he realized just what he had done. “I mean...S-sorry miss...I…” “Don’t mind brother Elliot.” Aura blurted trying to defuse the situation. “He’s just so silly sometimes.” The passerbys exchanged a few confused glances but carried on with their day to day activities. Ms. Oloro still seemed stunned by the sudden outburst but it quickly wore off as she looked to see the sun beginning to set. “Oh deary me, look at the time.” She grabbed them both a sense of urgency in her movements. “Come on you two, we should keep looking before it gets dark.”

Back at the lakefront, Kyveli’s little chat with Rose had trailed off pretty fast. Soon, before they knew it, their little stories recounting how they met Asmodeus (or Mod as they lovingly referred to him) had somehow shifted into them telling each other their favorite baby stories, eventually Kyveli looked up to notice the sunset. “Oh goodness, where did the time go?” Kyveli giggled. “We should get the children, I do believe Moddy dear was supposed to be paying a visit soon.” Emma nodded. “I’ll bet those two will be thrilled to see him.” Kyveli, nodded in agreement as she led the two sheep-like individuals through the brush towards the lakefront. “Auraaaaa.” She called out. No response. “Oh, she must of played herself to exhaustion again.” Kyveli thought to herself. Emma and Rose seemed to be confused, as the children appeared nowhere in sight. “One moment, I think I know where the children are.” Kyveli walked over to a certain patch of tall grass, she brushed it aside. “Auuura, wake up sleepy-” Suddenly her heart sank. “Head?.....” Aura’s favorite grass bed was completely vacant, and there was no indication whatsoever that Aura had been there recently. “Aura? Aura?!” Kyveli’s voice started to become more panicked, as she frantically searched the nearby area. At that moment, Emma decided to approach as something seemed off. “Um...Kyveli, is everything alright?” Kyveli turned to face her, tears welling up in her eyes. “I...I can’t find them!” At that moment an overwhelming sense of dread washed over the three women.

Aura looked down at the apple in her free hand. She knew she wasn’t supposed to accept things (especially food) from people she just met, but the growling in her stomach made the temptation to take a bite all the more difficult to ignore. She hadn’t really eaten anything since lunch time, and that was several hours ago...eventually she gave into her desire, and took a big bit of the apple. “ACK!! TTthhhhbbbbbtth!” She sputtered, spitting out the chunk of fruit she just bit. It looked decident on the outside, but tasted absolutely rancid, like it had gone rotten ages ago. Ms. Oloro noticed as Aura threw the apple to the ground. “Oh dear, did you get a bad apple Sugah? If ya want, we can go see Topaz, I’m sure he’ll give you a new one.” Aura shook her head. “No thanks miss.” That rancid taste had completely killed Aura’s appetite and now she just wanted to get home and wash her mouth out in the lake. Oloro sighed, sounding somewhat disappointed, but shrugged. Odd...Elliot couldn’t help but wonder, why this lady seemed to be trying so hard to distract them. Elliot couldn’t think of an explanation but something out of the corner of his eye, caught his attention. “Excuse me miss..” He stopped in his tracks, pointing to the building besides them. “I-Is it alright if we go in there for a bit?” Ms. Oloro gave a puzzled glance before looking up to see that Elliot was pointing directly at the town hall. “Oh Sugah, you wouldn’t want to go in there…” Elliot looked up at her, with a confused look on his face. “Why not?” “Well uh…” Oloro’s eyes darted back and forth, as she appeared at a loss for words. “You see Sugah….uhhhh….the Mayor….is a very busy man, yes.” Something about her last statement seemed...off. Not just to Elliot, but even to Aura that seemed like she had been trying way too hard to come up with that. “But...wouldn’t the mayor know a way for us to get home?” Aura asked innocently. “Uh...well I suppose he could…” Oloro admitted. “So why can’t we go talk to him?” Elliot pressed on, noticing he appeared to have Ms. Oloro backed into a corner. “W-Well you see Sugah...it’s getting late so the mayor will probably be getting ready to pack up for the night ya know? I-It wouldn’t be proper to bother him so late in the day, now would it?” Aura and Elliot both scooted up to her, doing their best to make puppy dog eyes to her. “Pleaaaaase Ms. Oloro?” Aura pleaded. “We’ll be just ask him real quick, I promise.” Elliot added, his ears flopping about cutely. Ms. Oloro tried her hardest not to look directly at them, but the motherly woman soon found it far too difficult to resist the duo’s charms. “Oh...Oh fine...but don’t take too long, Sugah.” Aura beamed. “Yes! Thanks Ms. Oloro.” She grabbed her brother by the hand as she took off towards the city hall. As they went in, though, Elliot couldn’t help but notice that Ms. Oloro had become fidgety, as if they had asked to juggle knives. 

What possibly could be so bad about going to talk to the mayor? So what if it was getting late? It was only gonna be for a minute after all. He didn’t get to dwell on it too long though, as Aura pushed her way into the building. Inside it was...relatively empty all things considered. Though it was well kept and nicely decorated, there seemed to be not a single soul, minus the mountain of a man sitting behind the desk ahead of them. The mysterman appeared to be a minotaur, though with more human than bovine qualities (apart from the massive horns on the sides of his head) and not a single muscle on his body appeared undefined even underneath his clothing. As the two approached the front counter, they couldn’t help but notice that he seemed to be mumbling to himself. It was too low for either of the two to fully make out, but what he was saying, though it sounded as if he was griping about the time of day. “Come on mayor hurry up, the moon’s almost out…” He said under his breath. At that moment Elliot timidly rung the bell on his desk. “Um, excuse me?” The minotaur suddenly snapped his attention to the duo, seemingly genuinely surprised to see them. “O-Oh, h-hello there little ones.” He smiled warmly at them. “Ehem, sorry about that, what can I do for you youngins?” Aura attempted lifting herself up onto the desk. “Excuse me mister, but may we speak to the mayor, pleeeeaaaase?” She tried her best to use her most cutesy voice possible. The minotaur simply adjusted his collar nervously, “Oh sorry little miss, but uh...the mayor’s not taking visitors at this time.” Elliot couldn’t help but noticed that his eyes appeared to dart back and forth from them and the window, as the sky outside began to darken. “Aw come ooooon.” Aura protested with a pouty face. “We’ll be really fast I promiiiise.” The minotaur shook his head, beads of sweat forming on his brow. “S-Sorry missy but uh..the mayor just hasn’t the time to-” “Torr, what’s all the comotion out there?” A voice rang out from the door to the right of the desk. “O-Oh nothing Mr. Mayor, just a few kids. I was just telling them how they should come back tomorrow and-” “Nonsense!” The mayor’s voice interrupted. “A good mayor always makes time for the youngins.” Torr’s eyes widened with shock as he turned to the door. “B-but sir…” He glanced at the duo before looking back to the door. “It’s almost nightfall…” He said just short of whispering. “Oh pish,” the mayor’s voice replied. “It’ll only be but a moment.” Torr groaned. “I swear that man has no sense of urgency…” He turned to the duo. “Well I guess today’s your lucky day little ones.” He reached forward with his left hand but quickly recoiled without explanation. “U-Uh, right this way young ones…” He opened the door with his right hand, as Aura wasted no time walking in, with Elliot close behind, though as he enter the room, Elliot couldn’t help but glance over at Torr, his left hand hidden behind his back. Elliot wasn’t entirely sure, but he thought his hand looked...discolored and almost rotted...Elliot was obviously confused but, he found himself pulled into the room by his sister. “Come on silly.” She urged.

There was a bright light, as a pillar of bluish flames arose in front of the lake front. As the flames petered out, out emerged a blue demon wearing rather loose sweatpants and a purple tank top. He looked around, spotting Kyveli standing near Emma and Rose, though not completely able to make out what she was doing in the growing darkness. “Hey Kyv,” He said approaching her. “Sorry I’m late, I ran into some things on my way out and well uh…” He stopped as he heard what sounded like sobs. “Uh Kyv?” He began reaching out to her. “Aaare you okay?” She spun around, tears streaming down her face. “Oh Mod!” She rushed over to him, hugging him tightly. She’s tried hard to stay calm, but her voice was cracking, and Mod could hear that once she jumped into his arms. “I-I don’t know what happened- but Aura! S-She and little Elliot, they're missing!” Mod’s eyes widened. “Gone?” He said in disbelief. “I-I don’t understand...one minute they’re playing and the other-” Mod grasped Kyveli’s hands tenderly. “Hey, hey, hey, Kyv calm down.” He said trying to ease her nerves. “I’m sure they couldn’t have gone far.” Kyveli sniffled, wiping away a few tears. “But...they’re alone out there...in those woods with...gods knows what..” More tears began to fall. “If anything happens to them, I just...I don’t know if I…” “Shhhhhhh.” Mod placed a finger over her mouth. “Don’t worry Kyv, I’ll go look for them. Trust me, I’ll make sure they get back safe and sound.” Kyveli looked up to Mod, a glimmer of hope in her eyes. “You..you’re sure you can find them before…” Mod gripped her hand tightly. “I promise you, I won’t let anything happen to them, I’ll find them and I’ll bring em back. You have my word.” There was a clear sense of determination in his words. Kyveli sniffled once more but forced herself to calm down a little. “Find her Mod...please.” Mod nodded “I will, you have my word.” As Mod released his grip on Kyveli he turned to see how Rose was taking the situation. She seemed even more hysterical than Kyveli, sobbing uncontrollably into Emma’s bussom. Emma did her best to console her daughter. “Rose, sweetie please...it’s not too late, we can still find him.” Rose sniffled in between loud sobs. “B-But...y-you know how delicate my little lamb is…” She covered her mouth as her eyes widened. “Oh gods why did I push him to get out so much?!...Oh I must be the worst mommy ever…” She started sobbing again as Emma tenderly brushed her hand through her hair. “Sweetie, don’t say that. You’re a wonderful mommy. I’m sure he just got a little curious and decided to wander.” “B-But, w-what if he’s lost forever? What if…” She covered her mouth as so many horrible worst case scenarios popped into her head. “Oh Elliot please be safe…” She pleaded. Emma tried her best to retain her composure, but even her smile seemed to be fading as her own ever growing concern started becoming apparent. At that point she looked up to notice Mod. “Oh Mod, good timing.” Rose looked up from her mother’s chest. “Mod?” She suddenly rushed forward hugging him tightly. “Oh Mod, I’m so sorry! I...I should have kept an eye on him...I-” Mod brushed a hand through her hair tenderly. “Hey, listen, Kyv already filled me in.” He looked her in the eye. “Don’t worry Imma bring Elliot back.” He wiped a few tears from her face. “You...You promise?” Rose said between sniffles. “You have my word.” Mod said once again. Rose wiped her face trying to hold back any further tears. Emma placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s gonna be alright Sweetie, Mod will bring Elliot back to us..” And with that Mod’s demonic wings sprouted from his back as he took to the air to search for them.

Inside the mayor’s office, it was rather disorganized. In the center of the room stood a rather portly human male, wearing exactly the kind of clothes that a pair of young children would imagine a mayor of a town would wear. He seemed to be an older man, sporting a rather impressive handlebar mustache. “Welcome children.” He said with an incredibly friendly and welcoming smile. “I heard some buzz about some new visitors.” He knelt down to their level. “Well good to have you in our quaint little town here.” Aura giggled at the jolly man in front of them, while Elliot recoiled a bit. Something about this man just seemed...too friendly, at least to the timid little half-breed. As Aura started asking the round man all sorts of questions, Elliot noticed a photo sitting on the desk, it had the mayor looking rather happy and with...a woman who looked much younger than him. Both of them were smiling but the young woman’s looked somewhat...forced. “Um, mister mayor?” Elliot spoke out, giving into his curiosity. “Yes?” The mayor replied turning his attention to Elliot. “Who is that there?” Elliot pointed to the photo behind the mayor. The mayor looked at the photo and his demeanor suddenly became a little more somber. “Oh that well...that’s my wife.” Elliot tilted his head quizzically. “What’s wrong?” He asked innocently. “Oh...it’s nothing child, she’s just...no longer with us.” Elliot seemed somewhat confused. “Did...did she get sick mister?” “O-Oh no...there was an...incident and well...we lost her.” Elliot’s ears flapped. Something didn’t quite feel right about this whole thing, the mayor seemed to pick up on Elliot’s apprehension as his cheerful demeanor appeared to crack just a little bit. Elliot walked up to the desk getting a closer look at the photo. “Oh b-be careful there little one.. don’t break it now.” Elliot kept his attention on the photo, looking closer at it like there was some sort of hidden meaning to it. Without thinking, he reached up and touched the photo and almost immediately felt a familiar dizzy spell as there was yet another flash within his mind, except this time something was very very wrong here. Before his eyes, Elliot could see a woman, strapped to a cross right in the middle of what looked like Slatesville. She was quite a youthful figure, but she looked beaten… broken even. “Slut, heathen, whore, wretch!” these venomous words echoed through the air. “Slut, whore, heathen, homewrecker!” The woman didn’t move, whatever horrible acts she must have endured must have left her unable to even acknowledge her suffering anymore. Elliot could only stand there in shock and horror of the horrible scene in front of him, but as he got a closer look at the woman tied up, his eyes went wide as he came to the horrible realization. This woman...was the mayor’s late wife?! But...but how...the mayor said that it was an incident that she...suddenly his thoughts were interrupted as a figure walked up to the front of the broken woman. Elliot couldn’t make out the features at first, but pretty soon the horrifying truth became clear to Elliot. This figure...was the mayor?! But...something about him was different. His overly cheery demeanor was completely gone, and all that was left was a look that could only be described soulless. “I trusted you Dinah…” There was a strange mix of rage, betrayal and just sheer malice in his voice. “I gave you everything you could have ever wanted...money, power, status, and this is how you repay me?!” There was a roar of screams from the background all condemning Dinah for her “Infidelity” (whatever that meant for Elliot). The mayor was then handed a torch from the crowd. “Now that...thing is growing in you, and now I’m forced to take matters into my own hands…” He held the torch up into the air. “May Adon have mercy on your soul…” He then lowered the flame towards the bed of hay lining the cross. “For we this day will not…” And with that the hay and cross were set ablaze, with Dinah tied to it, and now the roars of the crowd became drowned out by the horrific screams of Dinah as the flames seared her flesh. Elliot covered his ears as her horrifying wails echoed in his mind. 

“Um, young man?” The mayor’s cheery voice could be heard once again, but Elliot didn’t respond. “Elliot.” Aura grabbed her brother’s arm, finally snapping him out of his little trance. He was visibly trembling, that whole vision having left him more than a little shaken. The mayor approached him, reaching out to comfort him. “Are you alright young man? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost…” Elliot instinctively jumped back from the mayor’s hand. His heart was racing, everything about this town hadn’t sat right with the young boy, and now...now he finally knew why. “A-Aura…” He rushed up to his sister grabbing her hand. “We need to go…” Aura looked up at her brother, a look of confusion evident on her face. “G-Go?” the mayor said, sounding more than a little shocked. “So soon? B-but you just got here young man..” He tried to approach but Elliot once again jolted away from his advance. Aura’s confusion turned to concern for her somewhat frantic brother. “Brother Elliot?” She was still completely lost to the whole thing. “Aura...we need to go now!” The urgency in his voice was even more evident, causing Aura’s eyes to widen just a bit. “Now listen here, young man, you need to just-” “G-GET AWAY FROM US YOU MURDER!!” Elliot yelled through teary eyes, causing the mayor to physically recoil. Murderer? Now Aura was really confused. “Brother?...What are you-” She was interrupted by a loud knock at the office’s door as Torr’s voice could be heard on the other side. “Sir? Is everything alright in there? What’s all that commotion?” Elliot could here the door knob twist as Torr began to let himself in. 

At this moment he took his chance, grabbing Aura by the hand, he charged forward with her in tow, pushing his way past Torr, without thinking, Torr had reached out to try and slow them down with his left hand, but there was a loud RIIIIIP that made the duo stop dead in their tracks a few feet away from him. Aura seemed stunned for a moment, that hideous sound taking the both of them completely off guard. She looked down, feeling something heavy resting on her shoulder, and almost immediately shrieked. Still clinging to her shoulder, was Torr’s hand...but it looked...different from before. The flesh was rotted, with sections of bone, muscle and torn ligaments exposed. Aura could’ve sworn she also saw a few maggots crawling in the dismembered appendage. Flailing frantically, Aura threw the rotted hand from her. It landed on the floor with a sickening thud, twitching a bit as it lay there. Aura and Elliot were completely stunned, and suddenly this whole mildly frightening experience had cranked up to a full blown nightmare. The mayor’s pleasant smile had completely vanished by now, having been replaced with a stern and deadpan serious grimace. “You...really weren’t supposed to see that…” At that moment, the moonlight began to flood into the building as both Torr and the mayor began twitching violently as if going through some sort of seizure. The duo could only watch, the sheer terror they felt having rendered their legs useless as they stayed firmly in place. A black, tar-like ooze began to seep out of the mouths of Torr and the mayor as their flesh turned pale, before rapidly decaying. The stench of death quickly filled the room as both Torr and the mayor seemed almost completely unrecognizable from before. Their flesh and muscle haphazardly hung from their bones on certain parts of their bodies. Their clothes were torn and coated in the same black tar that oozed from their mouths and the various gaping holes in their flesh. The duo remained still, both trembling at the sight of the two walking corpses standing before them. At that point, Torr began to shamble forward, his eyes now blank and soulless. “You...can’t leave us...not now….” As he reached forward to grab at Aura, Elliot’s fight or flight instincts finally kicked in. There was no way he was going to try and fight off this hulking corpse in front of him. Grabbing his still stunned sister by her sleeve, he made an immediate break for the door, ignoring the demands to stop from behind him. 

He burst through the door of the city hall, but what he saw next did nothing to ease his nerves, in fact it accomplished quite the opposite...The once brightly lit town, now was only visible by the moonlight. The buildings and homes appeared to be covered in mold and vines, as if they hadn’t been lived in for years. The dramatic shift of the atmosphere in town seemed to finally snap Aura out of her terrified trance. “Wha...what happened to the-” Her thoughts were interrupted by what sounded like roots tearing not to far from the duo. “I’m so sorry you had to see this Sugah…” a voice echoed that just sent a collective chill down both Aura and Elliot’s backs as a grime covered skeletal hand emerged from the dirt about 10 feet in front of them. Then, from the dirt emerged a tall shamble of bone, sinew and rot. Its’ features were just barely noticeable thanks to the shine of the moonlight, but what they saw, made the duo’s hearts drop. “M-Ms. Oloro?....” Elliot squicked. The zombie woman’s neck twisted with an audible snap to look directly at Elliot, her vacant stare drilling right into the poor child's soul. “That’s right Sugah…” Her voice now had an ominous echo to it, which only seemed to terrify the children even more. “No need to be scared…” She began to shamble forward, stopping at about 5 feet from the children, her once fair features now twisted by her rotting flesh. “You can...still stay with me Sugah...I promise...you’ll be happy here…” She tried to hold her hand out to him in a sort of motherly gesture, but this only served to make Elliot take two steps back. “It...wasn’t supposed to be this way….” Elliot and Aura both spun to see the rotting remains of the mayor standing behind them. How he had managed to sneak up on them was a mystery. “It...would have been so perfect…” More black tar oozed out of his mouth as he stumbled forward. “We figured maybe….if we put on a show...you’d come to love it here...and perhaps want to stay…” The children nervously stepped back, bumping into the abdomen of Ms. Oloro with a sickening squishing sound as tar from her mouth oozed onto Elliot’s shoulder. The zombified woman’s face twisted into a disturbing grin as she placed a hand on Elliot’s head. “Don’t worry Sugah...I’m sure you’ll love it here…” Suddenly she lifted her hand off his head, as she outstretched her arms almost as if to hug them both. “WITH US!” The two just barely managed to duck as the zombified Oloro attempted to snatch the both of them. Without even thinking, they both began running as fast as they could far from the two zombies. The two zombies attempted to give a chase before opening their grizzly mouths and letting a horrifying wail.

Both Aura and Elliot were careful to stick together as they both ran as fast as their tiny legs could carry them. There was then another sickening groan as the two approached what looked like the marketplace from earlier. Before their eyes, another corpse began to uproot itself. It turned its head to the duo the instant it emerged, as it pulled itself from the dirt. The children stopped once again as this new zombie stood directly in their path. They immediately recognized the corpse before them as Topaz, though his apron was in tatters and his jaw hung wide open, his tongue flopping about in the air. “Please….Don’t leave us…” The zombie pleaded. “We’ve been...so lonely...here in our cursed existence…” He approached them slowly. “B-But I assure you...you’ll learn to love it here…” It eyed Aura like a lion ready to pounce. “ONCE YOU’RE ONE OF US!” Aura squealed as the zombie lunged forward at her. She just barely had time to jump out of the way, causing the zombie to crash face-first into the ground with a sickening crunch. Aura quickly scurried forward to her brother’s side as the zombie picked itself up from the dirt, its’ neck visibly broken from its’ not so graceful landing. The duo visibly recoiled as his neck and head twisted back into place, the sickening sound of bone and ligaments crackling and popping was almost too much for the young children to bear. Not wishing to allow the zombie to close the distance between them, the duo continued to run towards the front of the town. The zombified Topaz hissed as they fled, wailing as it hopelessly attempted to chase after them. The duo continued to run as fast as they could, doing their best not to look back at their now zombified former friend. The horrifying sound of moans and wails filled the air as more and more zombies started to rise from every corner. Elliot closed his eyes and tightened his grip on his sisters hand as he continued running. Aura seemed to be just short of sobbing as she was running behind her brother. She just wanted to be home, away from these...horrid creatures. She felt just a twinge of relief as she could just barely make out the front gate of the town in the moonlight. 

“There!” She pointed at the gate, as Elliot opened one eye to see for himself. Yes- finally this nightmare could end. No sooner had they rushed past the decaying gate, though, something in the shadows snatched Aura by the foot, causing her to trip over. “Aura!” Elliot stopped dead in his tracks as a larger, oddly tusked zombie began to rise from the dirt, his hand firmly grasping Aura’s left foot. “Leaving...so soo-” THWACK! In a sudden surge of adrenaline, Elliot had grabbed a slab of wood from the decrepit gate, smashing it into the zombie’s head, causing it to release its’ grip on his sister’s foot. Aura still appeared stunned from the whole ordeal, but Elliot grabbed her hand, pulling her back on to her feet. They had come too far now to let themselves get caught. The duo only managed to run just out of sight from the last zombie when something stood in their path. “No…” Elliot whispered. After all this effort, only to be stopped again?! But something about the figure before it seemed...different, though the trees somewhat obscured the moonlight, the duo could just barely make out the outline of...a wolf? Just an ordinary wolf, or...perhaps it was some sort of trick. It walked up to them, its silver coat and black eyes becoming visible to them. The two took a step back, ready to flee should it seem necessary, though the collective moaning and groaning from behind them meant turning around was out of the question. But to their surprise, the wolf didn’t look at them, rather walking right by them facing the approaching horde. 

“These fools…” It snarled, a similar echo in its voice. “Even in death, they don’t understand….They still don’t get why they remain in this limbo…” The duo glanced at each other, a look of shared confusion on their faces. Talking wolves? This night just seemed to be getting stranger. “They inflicted their twisted sense of justice on an undeserving soul and paid the price for their sins...and yet even in their curse, all they care about is adding more innocent souls to their collective…” Curse? Collective? What did this all mean? Where the people of that town...turned into those things by some inhuman force? So many questions popped into both Aura and Elliot’s minds, but the wailing of the ever approaching horde made them snap back to reality. “But this curse...it’s for these people to bear...Alone...children like you, were never meant to bear this burden…” The wolf then glanced back to the duo. “You two…” The duo looked up at the talking wolf, still visibly nervous. “Run…” It commanded. The duo gave a confused stare. “Run!” it repeated even more sternly. “Run far away from this place. I’ll hold them off as best as I can, just run for your lives.” The duo were obviously confused at the creatures willingness to help them like this, but did as they were told as they began running in the opposite direction of the horde. The wolf turned back to the approaching zombies before running forward, diving into the forefront and sending the rest nearby scattering like bowling pins. The horde appeared taken aback by the sudden attack as the wolf sunk its’ teeth into the skull of one of them before chucking the rotting corpse like a ragdoll. The horde then began to envelope the canine as the duo began to run deeper into the woods. Aura couldn’t help but glance back at her savior as the zombies gnawed and bit at the brave creature. As they all began to dogpile the wolf, Aura heard its voice once more. “Don’t look back!” It commanded under the mound of bodies. “Run for your life!” Aura winced as Elliot grabbed her hand yanking her forward.

“Come on!” he urged. She nodded and ran after him, deeper into the forest. The forest was alive with movement, wails and moans of the undead echoed through the trees. Every bush was an enemy, every turn yielding nothing but another walking corpse. Tears swelled up in the duos eyes as they kept running. Their efforts almost seemed hopeless as the trees blocked out the moonlight and the glowing eyes of the undead were the only thing indicating which way they shouldn’t go. They continued running, their lungs were burning but they refused to stop. Eventually they finally encountered a thicket and dove through, the leaves and twigs getting tangled in their hair. They both spun frantically looking for their next path to take...but then their hearts sank. “Oh no…” It was a dead end, the entire woods appeared to closing in on the duo as the moans continued. With any shred of hope that the duo had dashed, they both huddled together, hugging one another tightly as they awaited their fate. “Mama….papa…” Aura squealed tears pouring down her face. “I’m sorry for going too far…I...I just want to go home…” Elliot hugged his sister in a tight vice, tears also streaming down his face as he was forcing back sobs. “Please…” He pleaded. “I don’t want to die…” they said in unison….Then it stopped. 

The moans were gone. The duo looked up confused. The entire forest seemed to have gone silent for a moment, then the sound of leaves crushing as someone appeared to be walking forward made the duo to turn to the source, expecting another zombie to come out of the bushes. But it wasn’t a zombie...it was a woman, but something was...different about her. A radiant glow emanated from her body, and her flesh and dress where white as snow. She approached the duo cautiously as she could obviously see the fear in her eyes. “You poor little things…” She knelt down so that she was eye level with the duo. “Don’t be afraid…” A warm smile on her face helped ease their nerves just a little. “I won’t hurt you…” She cooed. Her voice was soft and kind, almost melodic compared to the horrifying sounds that they had been subjected to earlier. Elliot looked up at her through his tears and almost immediately his eyes went wide. “It’s you…” He gasped in disbelief. “You...you’re the lady...from the picture...” The woman chuckled, rubbing the boy’s head softly. “That’s right little one…” Aura’s ears perked up as she thought she could here the moaning of the undead once again in the distance. “I’m so sorry you had to witness that children…” She said as her smile faded. “This...awful curse was never meant for such innocent eyes…” She looked down. “My people...they let their fear and anger cloud their minds once long ago...they committed the sin, and well...I paid the price…” A tear fell from her eye. “I’ve watched so many innocence lost to this curse...so many lives cut short by my inactivity...And now, you children are in danger when I should have stopped this long ago….” The moans started getting louder as the undead seemed to be following the glowing light radiating from the ghostly woman. “Oh no…” Aura squeaked knowing that the zombies were getting closer and close. “Chin up child…” The woman placed her hand on Aura’s shoulder tenderly, it was surprisingly soft and warm, all things considered. “They won’t take you too...I won’t allow it…” She stood up as her eyes glowed bright yellow. “There is someone looking for you in these woods…” She then began to walk past them. “Wait here children...I will not be long…” With that the woman vanished with a bright flash. At that point the moaning had become even louder as the sound of rustling leaves and heavy footsteps became accompanied by the sight of several zombies approaching the duo, their eyes glowing brightly as they shambled towards them. The duo hugged each other tightly as the zombies surrounded them, preparing to jump…

Mod brushed aside a wayward branch as he continued to push his way through the underbrush. He hadn’t realized just how dense the woods really were when he tried getting a bird’s eye view, and ended up having to do the rest of the search on foot. “Ack, I swear that girl never could sit still for more than two seconds…” Mod grumbled as he moved through the bramble. “Now Elliot’s lost too, I swear when I find those two…” His thoughts were interrupted as he stepped on something round, he bent down picking up a rubber ball. The same rubber ball he gave Aura for her birthday this year, but Aura was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly his frustration subsided, being replaced with concern. “Oh, I hope they’re okay…” He may have acted tough in front of Kyveli and the others, but deep down, Mod dreaded to think what might have happened to his children in these dark woods. He tucked the ball away, preparing to venture further when a strange glowing object appeared before him. “What in Ira’s name…” He stared at the object as it bobbed back and forth. It began bobbing backwards as Mod approached it, clearly confused. As he approached he heard two familiar voices sounding distressed. “Mama...Papa…” Mod’s eyes widened as he immediately recognized the voice. “Aura?!” He began moving towards the light as it continued backing away from him. “Please…” Elliot’s voice rang out. “I don’t want to die…” That last statement had awoken something within Mod. A certain paternal instinct that made the demon start sprinting through the brush. The twigs and thorns tore into his flesh but that didn’t matter. None of it mattered. All that did matter to Mod right now was finding his children, and ensuring that they were safely in his loving arms. He continued to run as the voices started becoming fainter and the light began to vanish. “No!” Mod yelled out in frustration. “I won’t lose them!” A ball of blue flames formed in his hand as he chucked it forward to where the light had been.

It all had happened so fast. The duo had been sitting there, bracing for the worst when the zombies had all lept at them in unison, but none of them had even touched the duo. There was a bright flash and a loud FWOOSH before everything had gone completely silent. The duo eventually looked up and their eyes went wide as the charred remains of several zombies lay at their feet. The burned bones melted back into the ground from whence they came as there was a rustling through the bushes and a familiar voice echoed through the trees. “Aura? Elliot?” The duo immediately leapt to their feet as Mod pushed his way through the brush. He looked like a wreck, he was breathing heavily and his clothes were covered in dirt and leaves. He spotted the duo in front of him who immediately rushed up to him practically jumping into his arms. “PAPA!!!!” they cried in unison, tears of joy pouring from their eyes. “I finally found you…” Mod said as a few tears of his own welled up in his eyes. “We were all worried sick.” “I’m sorry Papa…” Aura said with a sniffle. “We were just playing...then this kid took our ball...and, and…” Mod placed a finger on her mouth. “Shhh, it’s okay. You’re safe now and that’s all that matters…”. He reached into his pocket, pulling out the rubber ball. “My ball!” Aura squealed in delight. Mod smiled as Aura bounced up and down, her ball in hand. “P-Popsy…” Elliot squeaked timidly. “I wanna go home…” Mod nodded. “You’re right Elliot, let’s get out of this forest.” He took both his children in his arms as he spread his wings. “Who knows what kind of nasties lurk in here…” The duo held onto their father tightly as he flew through the trees. He made an immediate be-line for the lakefront, touching down just in front of Kyveli, Rose and Emma. Their eyes widened as both Aura and Elliot ran from his arms to their respective Mother’s warm embrace. Kyveli hugged Aura in an almost vice like grip as tears fell from her face like a waterfall (though the wide smile gave a clear indication of her happiness). Rose, however, had pelted Elliot’s face with a barrage of kisses before hugging him tightly, tears still dripping down her face, her breasts almost smothering him. Elliot didn’t care though, he was back in his mother’s warm embrace and right now, he couldn’t be happier. Emma wiped a tear from her eyes as she smiled, holding the both of them for a big group hug. As the families all reunited happily, the same kind woman that had helped the duo out of this dreadful mess stood hidden among the trees. She smiled as she watched the children be reunited with their mothers, her restless spirit finally feeling a sense of peace. “Farewell little ones…” She said softly as her spirit began to leave this plain of existence. “And stay safe…”


End file.
